Group communication: Group communication is both a science and an art.

Behavioural scientists
and management theorists have attempted to discern patterns in group communication and
prescribe methods of increasing communication effectiveness for years. Although the merging of
diverse cultures around the world makes this an ever-evolving topic, there are a number of elements
that have been proven to encourage effective group communication processes

Groups, or work teams, can accomplish great things in small and large businesses alike. A group's
overall effectiveness, however, hinges to a great extent on the effectiveness of the participants'
communication abilities. Without positive flows of communication, misunderstandings can occur
between groups, creating a fractious work environment. Without clear communication between
group leaders and workers, productivity can slow as workers struggle to understand their specific job
functions.

Communication styles can vary according to group dynamics. Geographically dispersed groups
connected via the Internet, for example, are likely to communicate much differently than individuals
who work in the same room with each other every day. Whatever the setting, the way groups
communicate in your company can directly influence the success of your strategic goals.

There are few of the group communication theories which goes as under :

1 GENERAL ORGANIZING MODEL

Barry Collins and Harold Guetzkow (pg. 282)

 A task group is confronted with two types of problems

o Task Obstacles - difficulties encounter by the group, such as planning an event or

approving a policy

o Interpersonal Obstacles - difficulties encountered between people, making ideas

clear to others, handling conflict and differences

 In any group discussion, members deal simultaneous with both task and interpersonal
obstacles

 Assembly effect is when task and interpersonal work is integrated effectively

 Group rewards are positive (a successful event is a task reward, the fun involved in planning
it the interpersonal reward) or negative (if rewards are negative the group may find it more
difficult next time)

 Synergy is the effort expended by the group in solving tasks (effective synergy) and dealing
with interpersonal obstacles (intrinsic synergy)

2 GENERAL FUNCTIONAL THEORY

Randy Hirokawa (pg. 284)

 Tries to identify the kinds of things groups must address to become more effective

 (1) Groups begin by identifying and assessing a problem

 o what happened? why? who was involved?

 (2) Groups then gather and evaluate information about the problem

 (3) Next, groups generate alternative proposals and discusses objectives to be accomplished

 (4) Objectives and alternatives are evaluated in order to reach consensus (exploration of
positive and negative outcomes)

 Factors which lead to incorrect decisions

o improper assessment - failing to see the problem or identify its causes

o inappropriate goals and objectives

o improper assessment of positive and negative qualities

o inadequate information base

o faulty reasoning from the information base

 Errors arise from the communication within the group

3 GROUPTHINK THEORY
Irving Janis (pg. 286)

 Groupthink is a mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a
cohesive in-group, when the members strivings for unanimity override their motivation to
realistically appraise alternative courses of action

 Groupthink occurs when cohesiveness is high

 Consensus-seeking tendency of close-knit groups can cause them to make inferior decisions

 Groups often dont discuss all available options

 the solutions are often not examined

 groups often fail to seek expert opinion

 groups are often highly selective in the way they handle information

 Some examples of group think disasters

o Bay of pigs invasion of Cuba by the Kennedy administration

o Roosevelt's complacency before Pearl Harbor

o Truman's invasion of North Korea

o Johnson's escalation of the Vietnam war

o Watergate
 o Regan's Iran-Contra arms deals

o Trumans decision to bomb Hiroshima

 Eight symptoms of groupthink

o illusion of invulnerability

o belief in inherent morality of the group

o collective rationalization

o out-group sterotypes

o self-censorship

o illusion of unanimity

o direct pressure on dissenters

o self appointed mindguards

 Janis recommends the following to counteract groupthink

o appointment of critical evaluators for key members

o breaking into subgroups that work on the same issues, reporting back and
comparing notes

o leader periodically leave the group

4 INTERACTION PROCESS ANALYSIS

Robert Bale (pg. 288)

 Aims to explain the pattern of responses in a small group

 Bale proposes a number of categories for interaction, grouped into four broad sets

o Positive and mixed actions - seems friendly, dramatizes, agrees

o Attempted Answers - gives suggestions, opinions and information

o Questions - asks for information, opinions and suggestions

o Negative and mixed actions - disagrees, shows tension, unfriendly

 Note how the first two sets correspond to the last two sets, these pair together, giving
information is paired to asking for information

 One way for group to release tension is dramatize (tell stories), called fantasy themes, which
helps build common identity

 There are two classes of communication behavior

 o socioemotional - represented by +ve and -ve actions like seeming friendly, showing
tension

o task behavior - represented by suggestions, opinions, and information

 A group has two different kinds of leaders

o task leader - facilitates and coordinates task related comments, focuses energy on
getting the task done

o socioemotional leader - works to improve group relations

 The perception of an individuals position within the group is a function of three dimensions

o dominant vs submissive

o friendly vs unfriendly

o instrumental vs emotional

5 INTERACTION ANALYSIS (Interact Model of Decision Emergence)

Aubrey Fisher (pg. 291)

 An Interact is the act of one person followed by the act of another

 Interacts are classified according to content (the message) and the relationship
dimension (non-verbal manner of the message)

 Groups are systems, bound by a definable context with which the members interact

 Verbal interaction dictates the final outcome

 All groups go through similar phases or stages before consensus is reached

 Groups share a common life cycle

 Theory based on observable behavior not inference or speculation

 Decision emergence is reached by a four stage process

o orientation - clarification and agreement

o conflict - decline of ambiguity and increase in strong reactions

o emergence - unfavourable statements decrease, replaced by ambiguity (just

wondering..) co-operation develops

o reinforcement - brief, creates group solidarity, virtual disappearance of unfavorable

reactions

 B. Tuckman (Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing)

  Decision modification - cyclical, several proposals are introduced, discussed and
reintroduced at a later time (in a modified form perhaps)

6 STRUCTURATION THEORY
Anthony Giddens (pg. 294)

 Human action is a process of producing and reproducing various social systems

 Groups act according to rules to achieve goals and create structures that come back to affect
future actions

 Examples of structures

o relational expectations, group roles and norms

o communication networks

 Structures have three dimensions

o interpretation or understanding (how we should understand)

o sense of morality or proper conduct (what should be done)

o sense of power in action (how to do it)

 Our actions reinforce these structures

 Structures can mediate each other - the production of one structure is accomplished by
creating another

 Structures can contradict each other - the production of a structure requires another
structure to be produced which undermines the first

7 STRUCTURATION THEORY OF GROUP DECISION MAKING (Contingency Theory)

Scott Poole (pg. 295)

 Group decision making is a process where members seek convergence (agreement) on a

final decision

 Use of Giddens three elements of action are used to achieve convergence

o Interpretation - made possible through language

o Morality - established via group norms

o Power - achieved through interpersonal power structures which emerged in the

group

 Outside factors influence group actions (such as task type - what the group has been given
to do)
 In time, a group definition of each person and the whole group emerges (microstructuration)
- a process which continually repeats

 Groups can follow a wide variety of paths coming to a decision, based on contingencies

 How a group operates depends upon three sets of variables

o objective task characteristics - kind of problem, how well defined, impacts

o group task characteristics - previous group experience, urgency of decision

o group structural characteristics - cohesiveness, group size, power distribution

 Three general decision paths are taken

o standard unitary sequence

o complex cyclic sequence

o solution-orientated

 Decision paths consist of three interwoven activity tracks

o task-process track - dealing with the task, e.g. problem analysis, designing solutions

o relational track - dealing with interpersonal relationships, e.g. disagreeing,

compromises

o topic-focus track - a series of issues or concerns the group have over time

 Groups process down the tracks, switching between them, and breakpoints (transitions)
occur

 Breakpoints signal key points in the development of the groups decision making process

 The types of breakpoints are

o Normal - adjournment, topic shifts

o Delays - unexpected problems, rediscussion

o Disruptions - major disagreement and group failures